December 8, 1980

It was going to be a long night. Greg, recently emancipated from parochial school, had discovered both marijuana and the White Album. He'd been spending increasing amounts of time in his room and not in class, indulging in both.

We were in my room, cooking up the latest batch of popcorn when Hoover burst in. “Somebody shot John Lennon.” Later, “somebody” would acquire a name and his 15 minutes of fame, but all we knew then was that the world had changed and not for the better.

“Better check on Greg.” He wouldn't take this well. The vacant stare told us all we needed to know. “Helter Skelter” was playing on his stereo. We didn't have much time.

“Hey, Greg. Let's get out of here. Go outside. Get some air.”

Even though it was nearly midnight, we headed out into the snow. Needed to find some way to keep Greg occupied. Kurt recruited him for a snow sculpture, while the rest of us busied ourselves clearing ice off the sidewalk in front of the dorm. Students heading home from the library would stop and ask what was going on. Having heard they joined us, either at the sidewalk or across the street with Kurt and Greg.

I took a break from chipping ice to help with the sculpture. It was a hand, flashing a peace sign, with a headstone. Perfect. After a couple of hours, the sculpture was done, the sidewalk was clear, and Greg was at peace.

Later that morning, as I was getting ready for class, I looked out my window at the sculpture. One of the fingers was lying beside the hand, having either fallen off or been broken off deliberately. I hurried with my coat before heading down to fix it.

I looked out the window one last time and saw someone kneeling beside the sculpture. They read the inscription on the headstone, then gently picked up the finger and put it back in place.

Still here...

I'm still here, just not blogging. Lots going on, both personally and professionally. We're getting close to taking delivery of our Nissan LEAF, so I'm going to be devoting some bandwidth on this blog to our experiences.

I have made a few other changes, primarily with respect to cycling. I decided to give up racing, on the road at least. I found myself spending more and more time on my mountain bike, just being out in the woods. So I sold my race bike and bought a singlespeed cyclocross bike. I've really come to appreciate the simplicity of a single speed drivetrain. Efficient. Robust. Direct. More than anything else, I have been trying to reduce the complexity of my life. The mnmlist, among other sources, has helped me to remember what I used to know.

Crying over spilled oil

I'm having a difficult time generating outrage over the ecological catastrophe unfolding in the Gulf of Mexico. What did you expect? The earth is running out of oil. We are now drilling holes 3 miles deep, under a mile of water to feed our addiction. I've heard the remark, "We can land a man on the moon. Why can't we plug a hole in the ground?". The difference is we can equip men to survive on the surface of the moon. We can't equip them to survive at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico.

Outrage? Where was the outrage over Ixtoc, off the coast of Guatemala? What about the 5-month leak in the Timor Sea? Nigeria? Northern Alberta? Ecuador? Who will cry when this happens again (and it will) off the coast of Norway? Madagascar? Sri Lanka? Greenland?

Extraction of the planet's resources is a dirty and dangerous business. And yet we continue to consume. Every one of us is responsible for what is happening in the Gulf of Mexico. At least now it's happening where more will take notice.

The Best Bike

"What's the best bike?" A fair question, but one not readily answered. Where are you going? Across town or across the country? What route will you take? City street, paved path, or forest trail? Do you plan to carry anything with you, or just the clothes on your back?

Don't overlook the most important question: Why? Why do you choose to ride? Ethos or eco? Do you ride to save the planet, or to save yourself? Once you know your own heart, the bike will reveal itself to you.

Turning over a new LEAF

No, not the truck. We just put down a deposit for a Nissan LEAF. And no, I haven't given up bicycles, either. The LEAF, if we're lucky enough to get one, will be primarily used by the significant other. Her commute is similar to mine, around 20 miles round-trip. So the 100-mile range of the LEAF covers it nicely, with plenty to spare for a side trip to the grocery store. For longer trips, we'll rent something with a gasoline engine.

So why the picture of the Big Ugly Truck (BUT)? It's to highlight the absurd criticisms typically leveled at electric vehicles. "Oh, they're expensive". "The range is too limited". "You'd need a second car". Ummm, couldn't you say exactly the same thing about the BUT? The example pictured above lists for almost $50K. With the miserable gas mileage, the range is less than 300 miles between fill-ups. And do you really want to use something like the BUT as your daily commuter?

Maybe you do. Maybe buying a vehicle is less about practicality and more about image. And so if that's acceptable when your choice is a 150+ MPH sports car, or a 400+ horsepower truck, why isn't it acceptable when your choice is a sleek-looking electric car with limited range?

Updated (4/27/10): In answer to the question "Who could possibly need a truck like this?", Motor Trend posits, "...the Raptor is apparently proving popular among Texas ranchers who regularly drive across rough tracks to the farthest corners of their property". Texas ranchers that like to frighten their own livestock being an underserved market, I guess.